Ministry and mission – they go together. And details for both need to be shared. This cover pic is a good one and I’ll start there!

Ministry Updates – Bibles

Last week, my friend Randy accompanied me to Barahona, Dominican Republic. Several things needed attention. The list included several important items:

Orphanage

Visiting with pastors

Logistics for the next session of the Pastor Training School

Ministry follow-up

One of the things we did was carry NIV Study Bibles for distribution to the pastors. As you can see, they are really NVI Bibles as they are in Spanish. More Bibles will go with the next team (and probably the team after that!). It was our joy to present one of the Bibles to Pastor Pedro. We autographed it for him and the smile he’s wearing in the cover pic will be seen on a number of other faces as we put good study Bibles in the hands of pastors. Thank you for making that possible!

Ministry Updates – Widows & Orphans

James 1:17 always comes to mind here. And this is the update I promised about Pastor Alberto’s family. Randy and I met Hortencia at the clinic in Batey 7. She was cleaning the floors. Our presence was a good opportunity to take a break and she shared a few things with us.

The family is doing as well as can be expected. They are moving on but it isn’t easy. Then again, there is no choice. I’m sure you understand. Any widow providing for her family has an uphill climb. We learned her work provides the bare minimum level of needs. Then we share some things with her.

We reminded her that people here at home are faithful to pray for her. And some of those prayers have turned into contributions for her and her family. Randy and I gave her what had been provided by generous people. She was tearful and grateful. That pretty well described all three of us. We were grateful to have the opportunity to deliver God’s blessings to her. And this is my opportunity to give my thanks to you for your prayers and faithful support of the many things we get to do.

Ministry Updates – Website

Orphanage baseball!

Update one: the remake of the website is still underway. So please keep that in your prayers. Update two: the site re-work is why there aren’t many new posts. That’s the downside as far as I am concerned. But it’s just how things have to be. Continuing to add material just add tot eh work in the conversion process.

Update three: We have a new week of ministry and mission coming up. Most of the updates on that week will be on our Facebook page (reason: see update 2). So please tune in there and please share the posts. Part of our week is a graduation. And that is always fun and exciting.

There you have it. Please pray and please share. More later! (and check back often – the new site will be here soon!)

Investment Returns was one installment of this story. You can see that HERE. It will refresh the memory for some. It will give the needed perspective to everyone about recent events. And those events are opportunities to celebrate and give thanks. Why? Our Father proves Ephesians 3:20-21 over and over again. This is just one instance. Enjoy!

Investment In Mission

Mission investment can be projects or people. In this case, it’s both. Pastor Juan Ishim recently answered God’s call to plant another church. And that was not the first time he has answered that same call. But this time it was an outgrowth of our pastor training efforts. The pastors in Belize took a week in April 2017 to study the book of Acts. And not long after that Pastor Juan shared the new church planting efforts he and other pastors had undertaken. He also shared his need for transportation. My response was multiple posts asking people to pray and help. Here is a LISTof those posts.

Many of you invested in the new church plant by investing in pastor Juan. The same is true of every ministry/mission opportunity we have. It’s how I do the things I get to do. We work together, but God gives the increase and brings amazing results. We can never know in advance what God will do through the teaching of His Word. That Word always accomplishes His purposes.

Overcoming Difficulty

Many of you contributed to meet Juan’s need. When the money was finally in, I made arrangements to send it to Juan. Sounds easy, right? Let’s just say it was more of an ordeal than anyone dreamed it might be. Transferring funds internationally can challenging. Anti-terrorism regulations are one reason for specific regulations.

The funds were ‘out there’ for a while. Juan had difficulty getting them due to complications in Belize. At one point I had to resubmit the wiring information. That process had begun last year in the latter part of the Fall. It was January before Juan finally got the investment we sent. Juan and I have corresponded several times as he has done his shopping. And you can see the result of those efforts!

Thanksgiving

God is more than able to do more than we can ask or imagine. So our praise goes to Him for that. And I have to share my word of thanks to all of you who helped. Here is what Pastor Juan shared in his Facebook post about the motorcycle:

Thank you pastor receiving this motorcycle to transporting me to do discipline people in different location together we will stand up for Jesus.

I love his use of the word discipline to describe faithfulness to Kingdom work. Think about it!

Soli Deo Gloria!

P.S. – Did you notice the plastic cover still on the seat? Thanks for making ‘new’ possible.

Can a computer lab be part of a ministry? Absolutely! How this got started is in this link. Today’s post is the update to that one. And it’s great news. God is good. And you need to know how that goodness is being realized.

Computer Lab: Permanent Home

Jodie, our orphanage Director, sent me these pictures last week. I was happy to see them and very glad to share them with you.

When we delivered the computers there was no dedicated space for the lab. The dining room tables had to be a temporary lab location. Jodie told me then that creating a permanent home for the lab would be his next big job. The job got done even though it took a little time. The effort was very worthwhile. A quick comparison of these pictures makes that easy to see. It was November 2017 when we unpacked the computers in the dining room. We shared those pics at that time. And now there is a much better, more secure space for the lab.

Computer Lab: The Ministry

Dining room – Nov. ’17

God created Man as body, mind and spirit. That is something the Church should keep in mind as we seek to fulfill our Father’s commission. The boys in the orphanage are being cared for in each of these three areas. They have physical safety and provision. Education is something that often helps people rise above poverty. The computer lab is an education tool. How are the spiritual needs being addressed? Jodie, their host church, Pastor Pedro, and the mission teams that minister in the orphanage are doing a great job in that area.

These boys will continue to grow as Jesus did (see Luke 2:52). These tools, and others, are part of that process. Your prayers are also vital. A computer lab was a need. Prayer turned a need into reality. So please keep praying!

Soli Deo Gloria!

P.S. – Did you see the original post? If not, Unclaimed Baggage donated the computers. Another big “Thank you,” goes out to our friends at UBC, Scottsboro, AL.

Temptation is something we all face. And each of us has yielded to it at some point. We have dealt with the consequences of our own failures. And we have also suffered some consequences when someone close to us has yielded to temptation. How do we face temptation with greater success? That is possible. And the answers are found in a familiar place!

Temptation: Background

I am currently compiling a study of Matthew’s Gospel. That will be our next course with the pastors’ training school. In support of that, we are taking our church through Matthew this Spring. The sermon this past Sunday was from Matthew 4. This is Matthew’s record of Jesus being tempted by Satan. You probably know that Jesus is the only One to ever face our enemy without sin. Since this is our only example of success then we should study it.

And our study should reach back to chapter 3. That’s the record of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. A comparison of chapters 3 and 4 provide a stunning contrast of Jesus’ early days of ministry. Notice the following elements:

Identification:Baptism – With sinful men in the waters of baptism; Temptation – With sinful men in the fires of temptation

Spirit World:Baptism – Heavens opened, the Father spoke, Spirit descended; Temptation – All of hell is loosed on Jesus

Temptation: Unasked Question

I often challenge Bible students over questions they don’t ask. We really ought to read the Scripture through the lens of a question mark. But passages like this one are familiar enough that we settle for a quick read without posing questions the Scripture actually answers. Here is one obvious question:

What COULD have Jesus done to deal with Satan?

This is a question I intended to address in the sermon this past Sunday. I didn’t. Did you ever ask that question? Jesus was fully God and fully Man. As God the Son, Jesus certainly had the ability to:

Banish Satan to another galaxy

Take away Satan’s ability to speak

Judge Satan as the liar he is and send him to eternal punishment

Just a small amount of creative thinking could add to that list. But you get the idea. Considering what Jesus could have done lets us see the enormous value in what He actually did. We can’t face the enemy in ways Jesus could have; only in the way He did. Jesus faced our enemy on terms we understand. He defeated our enemy with the tool at our disposal. What tool? The Word of God. And don’t let that seem like a trite or pat answer. It is profound. Our Savior provided an example for us to follow. And He did it without sinning.

Temptation: Hiding And Winning

I had another forgetful moment in that sermon. It involved this picture and Psalm 119:11. My plan was for this picture to be on the screen during the sermon. That part went well. I was supposed to use the picture and verse to conclude the message. That part didn’t happen. But why I wanted to do it is worth sharing.

People who know me are aware that I love visual aids and object lessons. This picture popped up in one of my image searches. I had an immediate and eye opening reaction to it.

Without thinking I inverted this familiar verse. We might call it a divine moment of dyslexia! I saw the picture and the verse and said out loud:

My heart have I hidden in Your Word that I may not sin against You.

That is the way Jesus won over temptation. And it is the only way we can win.

A Gift: And Apology

I honestly believed this gift would be available to you last week. Evidence is in Treasure To Triumph: Required ‘T’ Keys. There was and is a great desire on my part to give you something truly helpful. And I fully believe this piece will be very helpful and encouraging to those who live with it for a while. To read it once and put it down won’t do much good. But as a reference resource it can be a tremendous aid to spiritual growth in 2018. And that won’t do anything but make the years that follow all the better. So what went wrong?

As you may can tell, my technical skill lags far behind what my heart desires to do! I could just blame the delay on the computer. We all know how frustrating technical issues can be. And those frustrations lead to some funny memes that I am happy to share. Because technical issues aggravate me on a regular basis! But the truth about this gift is I had to have some help to put this resource in your hands. The holidays made that a little more challenging than it would have been otherwise. So the delay is all on me. Sorry.

A Gift: And A Need

Earlier posts alerted readers to some behind-the-scenes improvements to our website. One of those improvements is an e-book builder. How it works isn’t really important. But Why it’s there isimportant. And that’s the need I want to share.

The need is your prayers. You could probably have guessed that since it’s a frequent request. And in this case the need is about bringing some things together. The first item is 2 Timothy 1:6-7. The gift of God in me is Pastor/Teacher. And that means I am always looking for ways to help people better understand and apply the Word of God. Why? Because that Word is life to all who will believe.

Second, a lifetime of ministry has shown me many things. One of those is how many mistaken ideas believers carry around with them. I see them struggling with such great weights and it’s so unnecessary. But it happens because our enemy has deceived so many with what I’ll just call stinkin’ thinkin’. It’s a great joy to share God’s Truth with people and see the freedom and encouragement it brings. You can almost see loads lighten as Truth shines its light into their lives.

And that is the Why of the book builder. You already enable me to do a great deal of writing and teaching. That body of material needs to make its way to others. And being able to put some of it in book form is one way for that to happen. So please pray for my learning curve with technology!

A Gift: This One

If you are reading this then you very likely read the three previous posts about Tragedy, Triumph, & Treasure. So you need a ‘head’s up’ about this e-book. The opening is something of a summary of the blog post series. But it’s much shorter. The purpose was to give readers a necessary reference point for why transforming our minds is necessary. Then the promised resource follows and concludes the work.

The creative Who Am I? resource is for every believer. But what about those who haven’t believed (yet)? The ones still seeking are why I put the front of the book together as I did. So you can do two things with this gift. First, use it for yourself. It won’t help anyone because I put it together. It can help anyone because it is the Word of Life. See for yourself. Second, feel free to share a link with family or friends who are still asking questions about faith and belief. They can also download it and we can all pray that it will help some come to faith.

Who wants to triumph in 2018? What keys unlock that possibility? That is the essential question. And the previousposts have laid a foundation for answering it. This post will provide two things:

The ‘T’ keys to triumph

A helpful and practical resource based on those keys

Triumph: First Key

Many things are said to be two sides of the same coin. And those are often items people consider to be opposites like love/hate or light/dark. But the phrase can also identify things which can’t really be separated. That is the relationship with triumph & truth.

Wars have been won or lost based on the truthfulness of the information on hand for decision makers. And this idea/example is perfect for believers. The truth is, we are at war. When or if we fail to recognize that fact then victory is much less likely. Peter knew this and set the believer’s conflict in life-or-death terms (I Peter 5:8). But that’s not all.

He’s still a liar!!!

Our enemy is the consummate liar. That assessment comes from the lips of Jesus (see John 8:44). And the larger context is Jesus’ statements about truth, lies, and liars. It is here that He told us truth will set us free (see John 8:32). Since our enemy uses lies as his weapon, it is even more imperative that we have truth as our defense.

It’s true that every person is guilty of sin. The truth is God can and will forgive that sin in Christ Jesus. So the greatest of all tragedies is the failure to accept His forgiveness. But even forgiven people still sin (fail). Those failures are tragedies unless we learn from them. Learning from those failures turns them into steps of Christian growth that we can treasure. But another ‘T’ key is required to go from treasure to triumph.

Triumph: 2nd Key

Let’s go back to our story of Muttley and Libby. The truth was, Libby weighed 80+ pounds while Muttley never weighed more than 12. Libby’s perception was the problem. She came to us as a puppy. So in her mind’s eye Muttley was always the BIG DOG. From time to time it was a funny thing to watch. But applied to this discussion it is frustrating, sad, and needless. That’s easy to see if we change the names of the characters.

Let’s put Satan in the place of Muttley. And let’s put the believer in Libby’s place. We were born into Satan’s sinful world with its sinful goals and sinful thinking. Every believer did some growing up in the enemy’s world learning the enemy’s ways. Keeping with our illustration, he was the Big Dog. And our problem is the one Libby suffered from: perspective.

It would have taken something extraordinary to convince her of the truth: she was the BIG DOG – by at least 65 pounds! For every believer, salvation is that extraordinary thing. But that makes thinking in new, truthful ways possible. It’s not automatic and it’s not easy. In fact, this will be a constant struggle based on the comments of the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:15-20. But Paul didn’t just talk about the problem. He also addressed the solution.

The key that is hidden in plain sight can be found in Romans 12:1-2. Do you see the ‘T’ word? Our thinking (minds) must be transformed. That is what allows us to have the mind of Christ (see I Corinthians 2:16). So how can our minds (thinking) be transformed? The first ‘T’ key, truth, is part of the answer.

Summary/Moving On

Failure to transform our thinking is tragic. It relegates us to a life marked by the Christian Identity Crisis. In order to have triumph (victory) in our lives, we must know Whose we are. We must know who and what we can be in Christ. And this is where the truth that defends us becomes the weapon of our warfare! So how does transformation occur? Are there practical steps? Is there a historical precedent?

Christian Identity Crisis

Practical steps do exist. And we have historical examples. One of the most obvious examples can be seen in a high overview of Scripture. The 7 Churches are addressed in Revelation 2 & 3. It is significant that these letters were written at the close of the Biblical record. What we see in Revelation 3:1 is an identity crisis. The Church in question was operating on the false assumption of life. Jesus said this church was dead. Those are two very different identities. But this kind of identity crisis was not a new thing.

Way back in Leviticus 18:1-4 we can see God calling His people to be His unique possession. As their Covenant God, He demanded they act like His children. Their actions were to confirm WHOSE they were. His people were required to live differently than those around them. Those things didn’t really change all through Scripture. So what happened between Leviticus 18 and Revelation 3?

God’s people became forgetful. That’s a human frailty. Then their forgetfulness became intentional. And that turned ‘forgetful’ into disobedience. But sinful people weren’t finished. They turned disobedience into idolatry. This list will let you see it quickly:

Psalm 106:35

Jeremiah 2:32

I Samuel 8:19

Ezekiel 20:32

Unchanging Father

But God never stopped loving His forgetful and wayward people. He continued to call them into covenantal obedience. That’s what we see in places like Jeremiah 10:1-2 and Ezekiel 20:7. But sinful people continued in their disobedience and God’s judgment inevitably fell on them:

Israel judged – 2 Kings 17

Judah judged – Ezekiel chapters 5 & 11

And it is quite interesting that the New Testament opens with words that remind us of Leviticus 18. Notice what Jesus had to say when He arrived on the scene:

Matthew 4:17

Matthew 6:8

It is a familiar and constant theme. And the theme extends to us. We think differently and live differently by faith. And what is faith?

Faith is acting like what God has said is really true!

Faith, like love, is seen in actions. It’s easy to see and learn. But we know we have believed when we act. So what has God said? What is it we need to act on in order to renew our minds?

Triumph: Practical Help

What follows is the opening of a much larger piece I prepared for a Fall sermon. Going through this list on a daily basis will transform one’s thinking. Why? It’s 100% the truth of God’s Word. It blessed and challenged me to put it together. The best thing anyone can do is put together a similar list on their own. But that will take time. In a day or two my entire list will be available for download. In the meantime, enjoy this segment and use it to spark your own work!

What is treasure? Is it gold, cash, platinum, diamonds or something else? And what makes anything a treasure? The previous post was the beginning discussion about the tragedy that is anyone’s past. Our failures live in the past. And one key to unlocking the treasure puzzle is to learn from the past (see opening post). That’s easier said than done. The bad news is: Barriers stand in our way. The good news is: They can be overcome!

Treasure: Definition

Treasure is that which one deems valuable. And valuable things are routinely protected. We protect our treasures with:

Secrecy (money in the mattress – buried cash/coins)

Safes (pirate’s chest, safety deposit box, etc.)

Encryption (today’s treasures accessed electronically)

The key to these things is knowledge. One must know the location of buried/hidden treasure. If a key is needed, on must know its location. We might need to know a combination to a lock. And then there’s the common problem of remembering the password! Who hasn’t been frustrated by that? And some of the most difficult things to find are those that are hidden in plain site. Even so, knowledge is still the key.

Turning our tragedies into lasting treasure is a task unique to believers. And we are often our own worst enemy! One of the greatest barriers to this process is often looking back at us from the mirror. The keys we need are ‘hidden’ in plain sight. So we need to find them, know them, and apply them. That will open valuable treasures to ourselves and others. And that is how we address what I have called the Christian Identity Crisis.

Treasure: Recognition

First, believers are new creations. Paul stated that plainly in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Two things jump out at us from that verse. Number one, we are new. That tells us there was something old. Number two, new creations are in Christ(God, the Son). In other words, there is a God, and we are not Him. We are in Him but at the same time different and distinct. All that seems to be obvious. But don’t be fooled. It’s a valuable key hidden in plain site!

The ‘deepest part of the sea’ – see Micah 7:19

We have experienced tragic failures. That is something our Father has never experienced…(pause…sink in). And He deals with our failures (our past) in a way we cannot. Notice:

Micah 7:19 (Heaven’s NO FISHING sign floats here!)

Psalm 103:12 (An infinite distance)

Isaiah 53:6 (Christ took what was ours)

Isaiah 43:25 (Divine forgetfulness)

Hebrews 10:14-18 (Forgetting confirmed)

We can and should celebrate God’s divine ability to forget that which He has forgiven. But as we saw above, we are His but different from Him. We have no such ability to forget. We remember the old stuff about ourselves. And this is a big barrier to turning our tragedies into treasure then triumph. And it is the basis of the Christian Identity Crisis.

A Story

A chapter in the life of our family provides a perfect illustration. I’ve shared this several times over the years. This will be today’s wrap-up. It starts with lines every parent has heard:

Dad, Mom! Can we keep her? Can we keep her? Huh? Please, can we keep her?

The ‘her’ in question was a puppy. The time was July 4th. And the date contributed to the name of this this little (for the moment) Lab puppy. Her ‘full’ name was Liberty. But that quickly became Libby. But her story would have no illustrative value if it weren’t for the dog we already had, Muttley.

Muttley was one of my wife’s many rescue projects. We got him from the pound. It was obvious he had been abused and it was fun to see him overcome that. Muttley looked like the TV dog Benji. And yes, his name came from the cartoon strip with Dick Dastardly and his sidekick dog, Muttley.

So you know Muttley was not a big dog. He might have weighed 12 pounds on the best day of his life. But when Libby joined our family, Muttley was the big dog. She was a puppy. And even when she weighed 80 pounds her view of him never changed. If he growled, she ran. When Muttley went somewhere Libby followed close behind. He always ate first. She stood back. He would eat a little bit. Then she would scarf up everything. The fact was, she could have scarfed him up. But HE was the BIG DOG…in her mind.

A key in plain site!

We don’t want to admit it, but we suffer from Libby’s problem. We can’t forget our failures. Our enemy uses them to accuse us (see Revelation 12:10). We remember the old person who existed before we were made new. But good news exists! There are keys to solving this problem. The problem is, they are in plain site. We’ll take a look in the next post!

Inheritance, reward, and peace are words that come to mind regarding Pastor Alberto. And when a believer meets their Savior face to face, it is good for us who remain to examine words like these. Pastor Alberto reached the end of his battle with cancer. I got that news this afternoon from two other pastors in the Dominican Republic. Since many have been praying for Alberto it is fitting to share this news.

Reward

Yes, I started in the middle. That’s partly because rewardwas the first thought that crossed my mind when I read the emails about Pastor Alberto. And the term reward is one of God’s very early Self-descriptions. It comes to us in Genesis 15:1. God gave this word to Abraham. And this divine Self-revelation was meant to build Abraham’s courage. That’s evident from God’s opening command, Fear not. Did you know that’s the most common command in Scripture?

Fear is a human problem. And I am sure my friend Alberto had his moments. But whatever his fears may have been, Alberto is now experiencing what it means for our eternal God to be our exceedingly great reward. For us, it’s still a matter of faith.

Inheritance

According to Ephesians 1:11-12, Christ is every believer’s inheritance. Pastor Alberto now knows that joy as well. And it occurs to me to address an important thought for all the ladies.

Ephesians 1:5 is one place where believers are addressed as sons. Many in our society tend to flinch at that kind of language. That’s because they don’t know the truth. Only sons were eligible for inheritance according to Jewish law and practice. So when Paul wrote that we (all believers) have received adoption as sons, he was spreading great news. No one would be left. And if that’s not enough to make the case, just take a look at Galatians 3:28.

Alberto was and is a son. And I can only imagine wealth of his inheritance. He worked hard to learn and serve. The memories of him asking questions class, serving his church, and working alongside our mission teams will stay with me until I see him again.

Peace

The common thought is Alberto is now at peace. That’s true. But you might see another truth woven into these Scripture references. And that truth is helps us make a fine distinction. That truth is:

Jesus doesn’t have all we need, He IS all we need.

Jesus is peace according to Ephesians 2:14. He isour reward. And He is our inheritance. Furthermore, He is our righteousness, our sacrifice, and much more. Are you seeing it?

We do not think highly enough of our Savior unless we see all that He is for us, not just what He has. And distinctions like this were often the subjects of class discussion. I always enjoy pushing the thought boundaries either here, preaching, or in class. And Alberto was always willing to engage the discussion and allow his boundaries to be pushed.

Alberto is at peace and he has met his Peace. But a task remains for us.

Family

Alberto’s father & Hortencia

I am sure Alberto had questions and fears about his family. And we knew back in October that we might be looking at trying to help his wife, Hortencia, and their family in his absence. That’s where we are. So please pray for them. The links in the previous posts about Alberto are still good. And if you want to help at anytime just let me know. Donations can be handled and put in the hands of Alberto’s family.

So maybe Inheritance, Reward & Peace will add a little depth to your celebrations of our Savior’s birth. After all, He came so we could know that He is all that and infinitely more!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Soul food… Could this post be about chicken fried steak, gravy, mashed potatoes, fried okra, greens and/or green beans, and pecan pie? Sounds yummy, doesn’t it? But, could soul food get any better than the things I mentioned? It can! And that’s the subject of this Giving Matters post.

Soul Food That Lasts

The ‘food group’ for my imaginary meal comes from a cultural term about some of our favorite, southern foods. These foods have at least three common characteristics:

Filling

Comforting

BUT…hunger will return

And that brings me to soul food that lasts! What is that? It’s a little play on words. I’m talking about food for the soul.

Soul Food For Disciples

The following resources are great gifts for any believer. And my personal view is every believer ought to read each of these and several other titles as well. Why? Think of your table, menu, and general eating habits. You know certain physical foods are not good for you for various reasons. The same is true for things people tell you are good for your soul. These are classic works of time-honored value. In essence, really good food to grow your soul.

So what follows is a short list of resources that can be purchased through Amazon via the links provided here. Yes, Amazon will send us a dollar or so if you make the purchase. However, I’d recommend these to you if I had to send Amazon a dollar! Each of these soul food resources will challenge you and/or a loved one on your giving list. Need a stocking stuffer? These will do nicely!

Eat This Book

I first encountered this book as part of doctoral studies. But don’t let that scare you. It’s anything but dry and boring. I like practical. And the subtitle of Eat This Book tells you its practical intent as well as why this book is on my list:

A conversation in the art of devotional reading

Devotional reading is a skill to be learned and honed. Eugene Peterson is the author. You may recognize his name. He was the lead figure in the development and publication of the Message Bible. This book is not a history of that work. However, Peterson does share a couple of applicable stories from that publishing process. And I can assure you they are fascinating. I highly recommend this book whenever anyone asks me for good devotional study materials.

Mere Christianity

This soul food list will betray another thing about me. I am a big fan of C. S. Lewis. Mere Christianity stands as one of his greatest works. And you should know a couple of things about it.

First, it’s a defense of the Christian faith. One who defends his faith is called an apologist. So it doesn’t mean what we think when we see the word apology. The name given to this genre of writing is apologetics.

Second, Lewis provides a very logical rationale for the Christian faith. And that is why this book is included among the ones I said every believer ought to read. There are other quality volumes in the area of apologetics. But Mere Christianity is in the top tier of this kind of writing. And since I’m on this subject, you and yours might also enjoy the work of the Christian Apologetics And Research Ministry (CARM @ www.carm.org).

The Great Divorce

This is another great resource by C. S. Lewis. One may find many things to like in this classic work. I have quoted from The Great Divorce in sermons and on this blog. It is here that Lewis wrote:

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’

That is a stunning summary of humanity. But I also like the creative nature of this book. The main character boards an odd kind of bus. His purpose is to take a tour through Heaven and Hell. He meets many different people on his journey. And he comes to some revealing conclusions about the nature of good and evil. I guess the creative setting appeals to the writer in me. But again, this is worth the time to read and it will be food for your growing soul!

The Great House Of God

I don’t think Max Lucado’s writings have had time to reach classic status. But when, or if, they do, I believe The Great House Of God will be on the classic list.

Lucado points to the believer’s heart as God’s habitation. And he correctly makes the point that God is not shopping for a vacation home or a weekend getaway spot. That should be obvious, but the point has to be made. And then there are logical implications for God’s permanent dwelling place. What does it look like? What’s the layout?

Those questions are answered with another creative piece of writing. The ‘floor plan’ for God’s house is to be seen in the Lord’s Prayer. That is Lucado’s path for teaching. It’s good, creative, engaging, and the clear simplicity is refreshing. And don’t be surprised if readers find themselves wanting to do a little house cleaning before they are done reading!

My Utmost For His Highest

Many of you may already haveMy Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers. I have found this book to be very helpful and very challenging. Unlike the other resources on this list, this book is a daily devotional guide for an entire year. So, there are 365 entries. And in case you are not familiar with this classic resource, some quotes may give you an idea why it has been loved for so long:

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.

The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.

Summary

I hope this is helpful. And I hope your giving list will include some soul food so others will grow. The world needs more well-fed disciples!

Beds are something we can do. But the dreams… Don’t worry; dreams tend to take care of themselves! So who needs beds? And can anyone really add that to a Christmas list? We can do it. Now, here’s why I’m suggesting this for our giving lists! And there’s a related item or two just for good measure…

Beds For Boys

When I was in the Manos Amigas Orphanage last month, Jodie alerted me to a current need. You guessed it. There are some beds that need to be replaced.

The pictures show us beds that have seen better days. These beds were put in the orphanage when we completed its construction. And the need for replacement is an easy observation to make. But it’s not as big a challenge as it might appear!

We can get new beds for about $200.00 (U.S.). Most folks would find it challenging to add that much money to the giving list. So how do we address the issue? Let’s get…

Outside The Box

Things like this are much easier if groups handle them. Why is that true and which groups could do this? Groups allow many people to share a burden or obligation. That makes things easier for each individual. And groups that could handle this are ones like:

Bible Study groups

Sunday School class

Civic group

A workplace prayer group

You can think of others

Those groups, and ones like them, are great places for people to work together. So please share this need with groups like the ones above. But I think there is a better group. And you might be surprised to know why this group could be the best one to help supply beds for boys.

It’s good to be a hilarious giver. It’s even better to teach others to do the same. So how can all of us do both of those things? Think in terms of the family group. And I am thinking of the big family gathering, not just the family that lives behind your front door. My family is a good example.

There are six households that can combine for our family gatherings. That gathering would include all 8 grandchildren. Now, what if I shared Beds For Boys with my family? I’d suggest that each household contribute one sixth of the $200.00. Now, imagine the scene as the family gathers around the Christmas tree…

Another Object Lesson

Lessons are always easier if they are seen rather than simply heard! Our family distributes gifts and we open them in turn so we can all see what everyone else has received. So who would open those 6 Beds For Boys envelopes? I’d probably give one to each of the six youngest grandchildren. When the envelopes were opened we’d talk about the orphanage, the boys, Jodie, Pastor Pedro, and why it’s important for us to include this need in our giving. And I’m fairly certain that moment would be remembered. There it is! My group choice is so we can meet a need and be faithful to teach the next generation!

That’s my challenge. And I am certain you can probably improve on my spur-of-the-moment illustration. It’s not too late to send out a family email or text. Give everyone a link to this post. Divide it how you will and include Beds For Boys as you imitate your Father this Christmas! (Ephesians 5:1)

Soli Deo Gloria!

P.S. – If you take up the challenge, make the check(s) payable to Mission: Hope and send to: